Payrolls Gain 243,000; Jobless Rate Falls to 8.3%

WASHINGTON — Non-farm payroll employment rose 243,000 in January while the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009, when it was the same level, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The increase in January non-farm payrolls was the result of gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted non-farm payrolls would increase 150,000 and that the unemployment rate would be 8.5%.

The 243,000 non-farm payrolls gain for January followed an upwardly revised 203,000 increase for December. The 8.3% unemployment rate was down from an 8.5% rate for the previous month.

Private payrolls rose 257,000 while government payrolls slid 14,000 in January. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% to $19.62 in January from $19.60 in December. The workweek for all private workers rose to 33.8 hours from an unrevised 33.7 hours in December.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER